Some interesting facts about the US Army

Everyone is well aware of world’s most powerful military. The United States is equipped with the most advanced and powerful Army in the world. In fact, U.S spend over 600 Billion dollars over their armed forces. They are the owner of leading Air crafts and Air craft careers. In addition to this, they are also a leading force with over 7000 plus nuclear warheads (just behind Russia). Not foreign power holds the courage or potential to remotely wipe the US. Over the past 200 years the US have been involved in various wars. And, in most of the wars they have been victorious (except Vietnam). So without further a due let’s unfold some interesting facts about the US army.

Interesting facts:

Presidents served in the Army:

32 out of 45 Presidents of the US have served in the Army. To give light to this point, 15 of them have served in the Army or reserve. And nine of them have served in the state militias. While six have served in the Navy or naval reserve. Finally, the two have served in the famous continental army.

The secret Velcro:

Velcro was invented during the Second World War. It became an essential part of our life, making life easier. However, the ordinary Velcro we use today creates too much noise while operating. The U.S. military uses a special type of Velcro which is 95 percent quieter than any normal piece of Velcro. The technology is highly classified and only a few has access to it.

Official establishment:

The official armed forces of the US was created in August 1949. The main aim was to divide the armed forces into Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guards.

No pennies please:

The U.S military bases will never accept pennies as currency. Pennies are usually too heavy thus they are not cost-effective to ship overseas.

Number of troops:

There were 1,369,532 active people working in the armed forces. Furthermore, the U.S has a reserve of 850,880 people. If we add the given figures, then we have almost 2.2 million people working together in the US Armed forces. Interestingly this population is more than the combined population of Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska.

The US military bases are huge:

The US army presently owns about 24,000 square miles of land. This figure is so huge that we combine the area into one place then could become the 42 largest state of the US.

The False alarm:

In 1942 during the Great Los Angeles Air Raid. The Army ordered a complete blackout in Los Angeles. In addition, they also fired about 1,400 anti-air artillery and thousands of bullets for a reported enemy aircraft. However, later they found out that it was just a false alarm. So what they were shooting at?

Fuel expenses:

During the Second World War the US had to spend about one gallon of fuel per day for every soldier. However, today it takes about 22 gallons of fuel per soldier every day. There has been a massive increase in the number of vehicles.

Highest military budget:

The US spends over 580 billion dollars on its military. This amount is really ridiculous if we start considering other country’s budget. The closest is the China which spends about 129 billion dollars. Then comes Saudi Arabia which spends 81 billion dollars. This huge expenditure ensures the cutting edge technology for the US forces.

The Tom Cruise effect:

Tom Cruise gave the blockbuster ‘Top Gun’ to the Hollywood in 1986. For this reason, there was massive increase of young men who wanted to enlist. In fact, new recruits went up by 500 percent.

The condom water bottle:

The US army offers condoms standard military equipment for its soldiers. Apart from its primary motive, it can serve a water bottle that can carry up to 1 liter of water. Quite useful!

The captive US ship in North Korea:

North Korea is the only country who were able to capture a U.S. Navy ship in 1968. Presently, this ship serves as a tourist attraction in the Pyongyang.

Number of Army bases around the world:

It is widely estimated that US army has Army bases in at least 74 countries over the world. However, the exact figure is still unknown.

Ancient ship designs:

Well, it’s not Pirates of the Caribbean. Presently, the US Navy uses wooden ships made from various woods. These ships are very useful in clearing mines from the water.

The walking truck:

The US has always been innovative in weapons technology. In 1968 they took this one step further. The Army developed a giant four-legged which could even lift a car. They gave it the name of “walking truck”. This was a real breakthrough in the robotics department. The new robot could even walk at 5 miles per hour. However, operating the robot was the real exhausting affair. And not everyone is Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Army.

The capable vessel:

The Army developed a vessel that was capable of operating both vertically and horizontally. People even called it FLIP or Floating Instrument Platform.

The American Civil War:

Till now the American Civil War is the deadliest war in the US history. More than 750,000 soldiers had to sacrifice their lives fighting for the cause. It is the highest number of deaths in the wars the Army took part.

More remote warfare than official warfare:

US is responsible for sending their troops in countless occasions. It could be Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya etc. But over the years US has only declared real warfare on five occasions. The goes on; The war of 1812, the American-Mexican War, The Spanish-American war, First World War, Second World War.

The Swastika logo:

Before the Second World War, the Swastika was a common symbol in the should sleeve of the US Army uniform. Back then it used to be a native American symbol. But we all know who later took the symbol and propagated some of most heinous crimes ever. It was the Nazi party of Germany which made Swastika their official symbol. They uniforms were specially embroidered with the Swastika logo. Historically, Swastika is linked to ancient Hinduism.

The official Uniform:

Over the years there has been various uniforms for the US army. The colors of the present uniform were chosen by George Washington himself in 1779. However, the Army has tried various colors and patterns in their uniform. It was 2010 when the army decided to stick to Washington’s choice.

The Missing man:

The US Air Force gives honor to their martyred soldiers by a fly-by salute. This unique formation resembles the departure to heaven for their glorious service to the state. We can say that this is an equivalent to the famous rider less horse.

Ray Ban:

In 1929, the US Army Lieutenant General John MacCready requested Bausch & Lomb to create aviation sunglasses that would BAN the harmful sun rays. This was to reduce the headaches and nausea experience by the pilots in those days. And that’s my friend is the short story behind the establishment of the multinational company Ray-Ban.

Navy has lions and dolphins:

Yes, you read that right! It is not a circus though. They still have very important role in the Army. The US Navy uses lions and dolphins for ship and harbor protection. They in fact, help the Navy to recover equipment from various regions. In the animal groups Dogs are the most useful and skilled animals. They can be trained to do almost anything. The dogs are used in the bomb disposal squads as well as attack dogs. They always serve their purpose very well.

Armed Forces Day:

The US Army has unique and hard training programs. In fact, they have very unique schedules than other country. The National Guard and Reserve might celebrate the Armed Forces Day/Week on other day. This is due to the fact that their schedule might differ from other branches of military. However, this celebration usually happens in the month of May.

The ultimate Aircraft carrier:

The USS John C. Stennis is famous huge massive nuclear powered super carrier. It is equipped with the most cutting edge technology in the world. As a matter of fact, it has a powerful air force than 70 percent of all the counties. This is remarkable considering the fact that this is just an Aircraft carrier in the first place. The country still has got more Air power to compete with other nations.